(a) Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a resist composition and to a method for forming a pattern using the same.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Photolithography processes are being widely used to form display devices and electronic devices. However, photolithography may involve high cost equipment such as a light exposing device and a mask, thereby possibly resulting in increased initial investment costs and lowered economic efficiency. Moreover, there may be a limit in forming ultra-minute patterns using photolithography.
Consequently, imprint lithography technology has come to the fore to allow processing without using any masks. With imprint lithography, a desired resist pattern may be formed similar to stamping a seal onto a substrate, and large amounts of minute patterns may be processed at a relatively low cost.
With the above-mentioned imprint lithography process, a resist layer may be formed on a substrate, and a mold with a predetermined pattern may be placed on the resist layer to imprint the pattern of the mold thereon. Thereafter, the resist layer with the mounted mold thereon may be hardened through light exposure or heat-treatment, and the mold may be detached from the resist layer to thereby form a resist pattern. A target metallic film may be etched through the resist pattern, and the resist pattern may then be removed through a strip process.
However, the hardened resist material may not be completely removed from the target, and thus some may remain deposited thereon. The above-mentioned unremoved resist material, may exist in the form of broken pattern particles, and may thereby make it difficult to manage the stripper or cleaner. Moreover, the above-mentioned unremoved resist material may in turn cause thin film transistor failures such as, for example, line cuts, short circuits, etc.
In an attempt to solve the above-mentioned difficulties, various different methods have been proposed, including ways of using a highly soluble stripper in the stripping process, reinforcing the time and temperature conditions of the stripping process, using a zone-to-zone filter, or exchanging the stripper. However, such methods may not solve the above-mentioned difficulties at a fundamental level.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a resist composition, a system with the resist composition, and a method for forming a pattern using the same, which includes the benefits of readily removing a resist layer after desired pattern formation without increasing the number of processing steps, and at a low cost.